Q&A for: 12-Feb-06
1322. Q:
hi mike i can see alittle 2 pack on my abs area i wonder how am i suppose ti get a more solid 6 pack since my fats at that area is lower than 10
A:
Your body fat measure of below 10% is for your whole body, not just the stomach area. But in general, yes, right around the 10% mark is when you start seeing the six-pack. For some people just the upper 2 abdominals appear at that fat level, for some 4, and some may see all 6. If you can see just the 2, then the only way to see all 6 is to keep on doing what you've been doing to get the 2: eat right and weight train/exercise. You will also almost definitely have to lose more weight. If you tell me more about yourself (age, height, weight) and also in detail what your training program and diet look like, I can give you specific suggestions which areas to change/improve. Otherwise you can read my how to lose fat article.
1323. Q:
so mike since im serverly overweight i need to take a NO-Carbohydrate meal to lose weight fast ?
A:
No, you're trying to oversimplify things too much. You will have to limit the amount of carbs you'll eat, but eliminating all carbs from your diet is a bad idea. You will need to learn what carbs are good for you and what should be avoided -- I gave some examples of good and bad carbs in Q&A #1320. You will need to learn the same for fats -- there are good fats (extra virgin olive oil, avocados, fatty fish like salmon, flax seed) and there are bad fats (fats found in all candy/sweets as well as anything fried -- even the good fat in olive oil turns bad when use in frying). Please take some time and read over my Nutrition article a couple of times to really understand it. It will tell you everythin you need to know: what foods to eat, what foods to avoid, how much to eat, how to structure your meals throughout the day, etc. If you have any specific questions about foods or the diet program, just come back and ask me here.
The second part of any successful and sustainable weight loss plan is exercise. I strongly recommend taking up weight training for fat loss, but if you are absolutely unable to do that, then even plain walking/running/jogging will be much better than nothing.
I know it's a lot of new information for you, but start reading and learning and it will soon become second nature. Focus on improving your diet first and then get into exercising. As always, consult your doctor first before starting on any weight loss program. Good luck!
1324. Q:
Mike, on your 5 day workout program. what are hanging leg and hanging knee raises? Also, i've read that its important to have a strong 'core'. what is the core and what exercises are done for it? can you work a core workout into your 5 day workout article?
A:
Hanging leg and knee raises are abdominal and hip flexor exercises. For hanging leg raises you hang straight down from a pullup bar and then raise your legs while keeping them straigh till they're parallel to the floor and then lower them back down under control. Hanging knee raises is the same thing except instead of keeping your legs straigh you bend them 90 degrees at the knee. Hanging knee raises are significantly easier than hanging leg raises, so it's a good idea to do them first until you build up enough strength that you can do hanging leg raises under control (and not using swinging momentum to get the legs up).
'Core' refers to your lower back and abdominal and hip flexor muscles. Core strength is very important for any athletic performance as well as general health. By doing exercises like squats, lunges, deadlifts, hang cleans you work your core as well as other muscles (and you work the core quite intensely, in fact) and doing some targeted abdominal exercises (like the hanging raises above) works it too, so my workouts do target your core very well. Actually exercises like squats and deadlifts are often called 'core exercises' for that reason. Some people like doing a lot of swiss ball crunches (for abdominals) and hyperextrensions or 'supermans' (for lower back) too, but really it's the likes of squats and deadlifts that will give your core the most benefit.
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